Justice News

Wisconsin Man Found Guilty of Possessing Child Pornography

FARGO – U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Oct. 25, 2013, Robert Carey Evans, 58, of Waukesha, Wis., was found guilty by a 12-person jury of 14 counts of possession of materials containing child pornography. The jury deliberated approximately three hours before returning the guilty verdicts. U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson presided over the four-day trial.

This case came to the attention of law enforcement after a North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations special agent assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force discovered two computers geographically located in North Dakota that were sharing child pornography in a peer-to-peer network.

An agent from Homeland Security Investigations eventually traced the computers to Evan’s apartment located in South Fargo. Evans, a resident of Wisconsin, was living and doing consultant work in Fargo at the time. A search warrant was issued for Evan’s Fargo apartment where task force officers seized more than 13 hard drives and 43 DVDs containing child pornography.

A subsequent forensic examination of this media revealed more than 22,000 images and videos depicting mostly young girls engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Fargo Police Department.

Sentencing for Evans has been set for Jan. 15, 2014, in Fargo.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl is prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.